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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

WOL - Creativity and Art Journalling

This was another category that I wanted to work on, hoping for some improvement. I decided to do creative writing morning pages (based on the wisdom of Julia Cameron) and to try my hand at art journalling. I have wanted to be artistic as well as creative for a long time so I figure that this art journal will be my big chance. But where to start?

I went on the hunt for a blank journal and found a neat one at Michael's. It is made by Smash and it has pretty paper, as well as a glue stick/pen combo that fits right into the elastic on the side. Handy. It wasn't exactly what I was after because a lot of the pages already have a background, but I am an impatient wench and it was the best thing I found in the 5 minutes I allowed myself. :) Also, I remember Tina from Tickled Pink mentioning that she often paints or makes up a page and then glues it right into the book, so I figured I could also do that.

See the cute pen/glue stick attached right to the side? So handy.

My first page was my wheel of life circle which you may have already seen here.

The second page was a poem that I woke up in the middle of the night, from a super sad dream, to write. I wrote it in the dark and had to decipher the words the next morning, lol. I liked it so I transferred it into the journal.

The third page (and the last one I will share with you) was a little combination of Mother's Day sentiments and an art journal prompt that I got from Tammy at Daisy Yellow. The prompt said: "CIRCLE: Draw a wonky freehand circle on your page, large enough to hold whatever you want to write. Write in the journaling circle. Then draw larger and larger imperfect circles around your words, in colored pencil or neocolors. Don't erase. Accept the imperfection." I also drew a quick sketch of the wind chime and butterfly that my mom gave me and glued in the poem that went with the wind chime.

If you are looking to start an art journal of your own, here are some examples of art journal pages. Some have magazine clippings, some are doodles, some sketches, all seem to have words. There don't appear to be any rules which is difficult for people like me who love rules. I suspect for this reason alone, this exercise will be good for me.

I heard two hints about getting started that really resonated for me. The first came from a Tranquility du Jour interview (#225 - Creativity) with Samantha Kira Harding. She suggested that to start, just set aside 20 minutes for your journal. This way, you don't have to feel overwhelmed by finishing a page or having to invest hours in working on your journal. Set the timer and when it goes off, you're done for that session.

The second hint, was also from a Tranquility du Jour interview (#228 - Art Every Day) with Leah Piken Kolidas. Leah suggests taking some pressure off of yourself and lowering your expectations by using a very small sketch book and taking just 5 minutes to do a very quick sketch. I love that this can free you of worrying about results because you can't really expect perfection in 5 minutes and it really makes you just get to it.

I think that no matter how you approach your art journal, it is important to Remember that your art journal is YOUR art journal. It can take any form that you want it to. You can include anything you like. You can use magazine photos, your own pictures, drawings, sketches, paintings, grass clippings and pixie dust. It's yours - do with it what you will. :)

If you do decide to give it a try, I would love to see what you create.

I'm glad you have started an art journal. Looks like you're off to a good start. I have never been successful at keeping one, which doesn't mean I won't try again! I have a blank one...just waiting for me. I'm thinkin about it. (You know you have to get up at sunrise to collect that pixie dust!)

Ha, I'm with Danni... my journal is blank. I don't know why I can't get into it. Those crisp, clean pages hold so much imaginary potential, I guess. I don't beat myself up about it too badly, but I'm so happy for you that you are enjoying yours!

I have never been good at journaling. My SIL has kept a journal since the age of 8, she writes in it everyday. I think it is a wonderful talent. I love the idea of having an art journal, good for you for starting one!

Hope you have fun art journaling! I tried it out a year or two ago with a teensy A6 sketchbook...most of what I put in it was trash but I had fun doing stuff like making collages with drawings on top, then writing things to go with it!

Will you be posting more of your art journal as you do it, or is it strictly just for yourself? :)